News Release

April 15, 2014

Northwest, Maryville Public Safety partner on drug drop-off

Northwest Missouri State University Police, Maryville Public Safety and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) invite residents to rid their homes of potentially dangerous expired, unused or unwanted prescription drugs by bringing them to its next “Take Back” event Saturday, April 26.

Residents may bring prescription drugs for disposal to the Maryville Walmart, 1605 S. Main St., between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Residents also may bring their prescription drugs the Maryville Public Safety building, 222 E. Third St., or the Wellness Center parking lot on the Northwest campus.

Only pills or patches will be accepted; the DEA cannot accept liquids, needles or sharps. The service is free and anonymous, no questions asked.

This will mark the eighth time in three years that the local agencies have offered the disposal.

Last October, Americans turned in 324 tons, or more than 647,000 pounds, of prescription drugs at more than 4,114 sites operated by the DEA and its thousands of state and local law enforcement partners. When those results are combined with what was collected in its seven previous “Take Back” events, DEA and its partners have taken in more than 3.4 million pounds, or more than 1,700 tons, of pills.

The initiative addresses a vital public safety and public health issue. Medicines that languish in home cabinets are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse and abuse. Rates of prescription drug abuse in the U.S. are alarmingly high, as are the number of accidental poisonings and overdoses due to these drugs. Studies show that a majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including from the home medicine cabinet. In addition, Americans are now advised that their usual methods for disposing of unused medicines — flushing them down the toilet or throwing them in the trash — pose potential safety and health hazards.

DEA is in the process of approving new regulations that implement the Safe and Responsible Drug Disposal Act of 2010, which amends the Controlled Substances Act to allow an “ultimate user” – meaning a patient, family member or pet owner – of controlled substance medications to dispose of them by delivering them to entities authorized to accept them by the attorney general. The act also allows the attorney general to authorize long-term care facilities to dispose of residents’ controlled substances in certain instances.